Oil Sands, Public Health, and Politics in Fort Chipewyan
Abstract
The northern Alberta hamlet of Fort Chipewyan has been profoundly impacted by the extraction and processing of oil sands, a viscous form of petroleum found deep within the earth. The following paper will convey the impact of the oil sands industry on both public health and political institutions in Fort Chipewyan. It will suggest that the extraction of viscous petroleum deposits may have resulted in elevated rates of lymphoma and biliary tract cancer within the hamlet. It will also draw upon scholar Michael Watts’ oil-complex model and Michel Foucault’s theories of authoritarian governance to understand the impact of an oil sands economy on political institutions and accountability.